Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand...praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end… (Ephesians 6:10-12; 18a)

This morning, as I prayed for America, I felt a strong calling from the Lord to issue an urgent prayer alert. Initially, it came to me as I was praying for the city of Roseburg, Oregon, and the relatives of the victims shot on October 1, 2015. There is a level of evil that has been loosed in the nation on a scale we have not previously experienced since the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999.

Prior to the Columbine shooting, I issued a prophetic warning that prayer was needed for every school in the Denver area, which included Littleton, CO. Some did pray, and later on, reports came out about people who had dreams of men causing havoc, dressed in black coats like the shooter wore.

After the tragedy at Columbine, Billy Graham stated, “We have demons in our world. We saw them at Columbine High School not long ago. And the Bible tells us that the devil is a thief and a robber who has come to kill and destroy.”

We live in a generation that has been desensitized by playing violent video games in which the lines are easily blurred between fantasy and reality. There is a celebration of the culture of death, demonstrated, for example, in fashion through the wearing of skulls and in films made about zombies. Simply putting it, death seems to have become no big deal—to take a human life is no more evil than to kill a pesky bug.

The above passage from Ephesians reminds us that the real enemies are influences in the spiritual realm, preying on wounded people and exploiting their external circumstances.   

In 1962, a simple twenty-two word prayer was taken out of schools:

Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependency on Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our country.

I believe this prayer held the evil one at bay, prohibiting him from creating havoc in our schools and culture. Since this is no longer allowed, it is critical and necessary for the whole Body of Christ to become engaged in intercessory prayer for our schools. This is an urgent request that we lift up prayer shields around the schools in our local areas, whether or not we have children who attend them.

The school shootings will become more prevalent if we do not act. The powers of darkness have found entry points and want to destroy the sons and daughters of America.

What can we do?

Each believer should become a prayer activist—one who is sensitive to the Holy Spirit, ready to be called upon to pray for situations in which Satan is trying to kill, steal, or destroy.

Learn the names of the schools in your area. Engage in prayer for them and for their protection. Take it a step further and partner with others in prayer. Find out what needs the schools have, and look for practical ways to meet them. Believers can and should form a protective covering around their local schools through prayer and action.

A prayer activist is an initiator. For instance, if you are a parent of a student at a local school, form a parents’ prayer group for the school. Find out if there are groups like M.O.P.S that you can join if you have children that age.

If you are a student at the school, find out if there are prayer groups on your local campus. If not, you be the prayer activist who starts one. Ask your friends if they will set aside time during a break or lunch hour to intercede for the school, students, and teachers. Cry out to God for protection for the school, as well as a spiritual awakening.

We must put our prayer shields up on behalf of the next generation!